


Sweet Distractions

by BasslineRaver



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-13 21:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2166465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BasslineRaver/pseuds/BasslineRaver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crosshairs is irked by Drift leaving so often, so he follows him. A relationship between the two starts over the most mundane of things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Crosshairs' accent is to be implied. It's tedious to write out sometimes.

Drift quietly stepped away from the garage at the Yaeger’s home, then transformed into his car mode and drove off for the day. It was a normal sort of routine for him, that he would spend time away from everyone so he could enjoy his peace and quiet. It did make for much better meditation sessions after all.

 

However he had been going away far too often for his own tastes. He just didn’t want to spend time with the humans, nor with other mechs. His mood put him in a tough spot where he felt like being alone was the only right thing.

 

Soon enough, his visits to humanity dwindled down to once a week, even that. The humans did seem to notice but they had only figured it was a side of Drift’s personality they hadn’t seen. There was so much about the Cybertronians that they didn’t know, so there was probably a lot that they could attribute to the unknown.

 

However, Crosshairs knew he was being sketchy and it pissed him off.

 

“Oi, mate, whaddya think yer doin’? Walkin’ off? Ya know Optimus said watch those little humans,” Crosshairs stood in Drift’s way one evening. Drift stared up at him from his vehicle mode and you could almost feel his optics rolling.

 

“Move, Crosshairs, I have no time for your games,” Drift said sternly.

 

“Oh you think that’s gon’ get me to move?” Crosshairs leaned up and stepped one foot on Drift’s front bumper. Drift screeched backwards, transforming and had one of his swords on Crosshairs’ leg in an instant.

 

“Do not touch me,” Drift said coldly.

 

Crosshairs just laughed and shook his head. “Yer a piece o’ work, mate,” he said condescendingly.

 

“You have no need to know where I go. It is none of your business,” Drift sheathed his sword and strode off, avoiding Crosshairs as if he wasn’t even standing in his way.

 

“Yea well now we’re stuck on this Primus forsaken rock together, you can’t avoid me forever. Ain’t we supposed to be gettin’ to know each other as comrades?” Crosshairs shrugged in an over-exaggerated manner. He turned on his heel and strode after Drift.

 

“Leave me be,” Drift snapped curtly and broke out into a run, heading off into the forest.

 

“Oi, it’s a chase is it? I like chases!!” Crosshairs smirked and ran after but he barely made it into the forest when he realized Drift was just gone. He looked around, then slapped a hand to his head, “How does that bugger-atti do that,” he said. He headed further into the forest and looked around, finding no trace of Drift at all. It was processor-boggling what that mech could do.

 

Crosshairs threw his arms up and went back to the house. Bumblebee was out as well, sitting and listening to a radio broadcast about something or another in local news. Upon Crosshairs’ approach, he played a burst of music and a few clips greeting him.

 

“Yea yea, hi to you too,” Crosshairs sat down and stared off at the forest where Drift had left. Bumblebee let out an inquiring chirp. “Oh, Drift’s just bein’ shitty again,” Crosshairs said. “M’gon’ go watch TV,” he stood up and headed into the garage, transforming so he obviously fit better in the garage itself and watched the TV the Yaegers had set up for them in there. He really liked human sports, especially that rugby he stumbled across. It was just so damn action-packed. He didn’t even know humans could be so violent!

 

He passed into recharge for the night with the TV blaring and not even noticing that it was.

 

The next morning, he woke up in the garage to find Drift next to him in his vehicle mode. He stared over at him, then grumbled and pouted to himself. Stupid samurai. He’d get to figuring out where he went soon enough.

 

\---

 

The next night, Drift turned to leave as his usual routine was. Crosshairs said nothing, but was attempting something that was nearly unheard of for himself: being stealthy. He waited until Drift was a bit off and then followed him, trying his best to make minimal noise.

 

This amused Drift to no end. He crouched still and quiet on a nearby rock outcropping as he watched Crosshairs follow the rather obvious trail he had left. When the trail had ended, he heard Crosshairs yell in frustration and stomp his foot. Then Drift watched as Crosshairs left the same way he came, but didn’t move just yet. He waited a few more minutes, watching as Crosshairs came running, doubling back and checking, then ran back out, furious.

 

Drift chucked and put a hand to his forehead, shaking his head slightly.

 

He turned and hopped up the rock formation and made his way to a lesser path, though still clear to himself as he had traversed it many times lately. He headed out to a small clearing by a stream, sat himself down under a large tree, and meditated. Though that wasn’t his reason for always being away, he enjoyed his meditation.

 

What he came out for was when the night truly fell. He looked up to the stars, and would reminisce of his past, when he didn’t have to hide on a backwater planet, with one grumpy paratrooper, one crazy weapons specialist, and one scout that talked in radio clips.

 

Drift sighed wistfully and thought of better times on Cybertron.

 

The next morning he headed back, slipping into the four car garage quietly. Bumblebee was snoozing quietly in his side of the garage. Crosshairs had left the TV on again, and fell into recharge while watching. Whatever he was watching wasn’t on now and instead there was an infomercial for something about covering bowls with plastic and holding them upside down. Drift marveled at the things humans would do to sell their product. He was also surprised that Bumblebee was able to sleep through such noise.

 

Drift took a moment to remote turned off the TV and went into recharge himself as well.

 

He woke unpleasantly in the morning to Crosshairs griping at him.

 

“Oi, samurai slagger, how come you keep sneakin’ off, huh!?” Crosshairs was standing just outside the garage and crouched down, glaring at him. Drift mimicked a yawn and rolled out of the garage, transforming and standing up to look at him.

 

“I have told you, it is nothing of your concern,” Drift said calmly.

 

“Bah,” Crosshairs waved his hands at Drift. He went off in a huff, grumbling as he did.

 

So it went for a few weeks. Drift would sneak off, Crosshairs would attempt to follow him, fail, and get mad. At first Crosshairs’ failures amused Drift, but he started to feel bad for the other mech. He was no master of quiet, and if anything, the fact that he was trying to be quiet and sneaky was almost painful for him, based on the noises he made when he was done being stealthy.

 

Drift decided one night that he would let Crosshairs tail him. He went along a very obvious path and didn’t go too fast. He sat down at his stargazing spot, sitting lotus style as usual, and put his hands gently on his knees. Not a moment after that, Crosshairs came stumbling out from the brush and pointed triumphantly at him.

 

“AH HA. I FOUND YA,” Crosshairs yelled.

 

“I let you find me,” Drift said softly.

 

“Yea yea that’s what YOU say,” Crosshairs put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side, staring at him. “This is what you do?” he said incredulously, “Stare at nothing?”

 

“I meditate and stare at the skies, Crosshairs,” Drift said, “It would do you good to enjoy some peace and quiet in your life, especially considering there is a lack of fighting now.”

 

“Uh-huh, some of that zen shit, eh?” Crosshairs leaned forward and jabbed his finger at the back of Drift’s helm. Drift turned and swatted his hand away.

 

“Be silent. Sit,” Drift ordered him.

 

“Why should I,” Crosshairs sneered and went to kick at his backside, grinning at the easy target Drift had presented. He wanted to annoy the samurai as much as he had been annoyed the past two weeks.

 

“Sit,” Drift simply said, and moved to the side at the last moment, making Crosshairs’ kick whiff at air. Crosshairs cussed, but sat down, knowing he was going to fight a losing battle this time around, but his processor whirred on how to win the war.

 

“So this is what you do, eh?” Crosshairs looked up at the skies. Drift was silent. “Yea lemmie guess, ‘You said that already,’ huh?” Crosshairs tried to do his best imitation of Drift. He stared up at the skies for a bit as well, leaning back on his hands as he did so. When he looked down to say something else to Drift, the other mech was gone. Crosshairs raised an eyebrow then laughed and held a hand to his forehead.

 

The night passed, and Crosshairs made his way back to the garage to recharge. He didn’t see Drift, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

 

The next night was when he was a big eager. He tailed Drift again, not really getting that Drift was letting himself get followed. Drift was once again, stargazing when Crosshairs joined him.

 

“That’s it, that’s all you do?” Crosshairs sat down next to him, then cussed a bit in Cybertronian and crossed his arms. “Stupid.”

 

“Silence,” Drift said.

 

They continued meeting up, though by the end of the week, Crosshairs didn’t need to tail Drift as he had learned the way himself. Drift continued to let himself be followed, however, as it seemed to make Crosshairs proud of himself.

 

What shocked Crosshairs the most was the night when Drift didn’t merely sneak away quietly while they were both staring at the skies.

 

“I’m leaving now,” Drift said quietly, and stood. “I will see you tomorrow night?”

 

“Ehhh?” Crosshairs leaned his head back, staring at Drift. “Sure, why not.”

 

“Do you know the way?” Drift asked.

 

“Yeeup,” Crosshairs said. He looked a bit more at the skies instead, just thinking this time.

 

“I will be leaving then,” Drift spoke as he left. Crosshairs sat for a few more minutes, then stood up as well and made his way back home.

 

\---

 

It was shortly after they started meeting up in this way that Drift broke the silence, surprising Crosshairs when he spoke.

 

“That one up there,” Drift said. Crosshairs jumped a bit, all his armor paneling fanning out in his shock for a moment, before he composed himself. Drift gave him a bit of a look before looking back up and pointing. “That’s Cybertron’s star.”

 

“Oh. Izzit?” Crosshairs squinted and looked at the tiny speck of light in the skies. “I wasn’t ever one for figurin’ out star charts,” he admitted. Drift made a noise but Crosshairs couldn’t figure out what he was going for in sharing that fact. He shifted uneasily, kicking at the ground a bit.

 

“I miss Cybertron,” Drift murmured sadly.

 

“Oh that’s what this is about?” Crosshairs looked over at him. Drift nodded. “Well, tears ain’t gonna bring it back you know.”

 

“I know, Crosshairs, I am not an idiot,” Drift’s expression soured for a moment, and he looked away. “I merely mourn the good times I had there being lost. I will no longer be able to return to the home I once knew, the home before the war started.”

 

Crosshairs had a moment of understanding and made a soft ‘ah’ as he sat back. “I miss it too yanno. It was so great there…” Crosshairs trailed off.

 

The rest of the night was spent in silence between the two. Crosshairs was the first to leave, and he said nothing as he parted, leaving Drift alone. Drift sat for a while longer, eventually changing his position to hug at his knees stare downward, lost in his memories for a few moments. He then stood up as well and left.

 

The next night brought a bit of a shock for Drift: Crosshairs was there waiting for him. Drift very slightly tilted his head to the side, giving Crosshairs a side-opticked look as he sat down. As soon as he did, Crosshairs spoke.

 

“So ya miss Cybertron huh? M’best memories from there were when I was young. You know, a little hell-raising glitch,” Crosshairs said. He looked somewhat expectantly at Drift, then frowned when he said nothing. So he pressed on. “Those were the best ones, yanno? Running around with all the other sparklings and being a piece of slag.” When Drift continued to say nothing, Crosshairs just rambled on about being a kid and enjoying what he had. Drift’s extended silence made Crosshairs just a bit peeved, so he stood up and left early.

 

“I didn’t have a home,” Drift said the next night they met up for stargazing. Crossharis rebooted his optics in surprise and looked at him. Drift tilted his head downward and repeating himself softly. “I didn’t have a home at all. I was an orphan that lived on the streets.”

 

Crosshairs stared at him in shock, his mouth dropped open, before he shook his head and rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, looking away. “Eesh, sorry Drift. Not like I knew,” he said hesitantly.

 

“Fear not, I’m not offended,” Drift said, “I was merely informing you of what my past was.”

 

“Musta been hard… Not like it was easy enough to live on Cybertron sometimes, but alone as a kid?” Crosshairs frowned.

 

“I always was envious of children that had homes. They would always stare judgmentally at me as I would look at them from my corners behind buildings,” Drift seemed bitter as he spoke, a far cry from his normal gentle tones. “I was dirty, weak, and nobody gave me a second glance.”

 

“Hey uh, if it helps, I woulda played with you. I was a stupid kid, I didn’t care what people really thought,” Crosshairs laughed weakly after he spoke.

 

“The sentiment is appreciated, though this is the past we are talking about,” Drift tilted his head over, looking intently at Crosshairs. “I am sure you have changed from when you were a child, and perhaps you may have not been as accepting as you once thought. I was acutely aware of that as a child. Those that may have been accepting… They always wanted more.”

 

The way he trailed off made Crosshairs feel there was something he wasn’t sharing, and it almost felt ominous. He shifted, then pushed at Drift’s side.

 

“Oi, samurai, wanna walk back together?” he said. Crosshairs surprised himself by asking this as well, but he figured it might be a good enough distraction for Drift who he almost forced to dredge up his past. He noticed that Drift’s optics brightened in his suprise.

 

“That would be acceptable,” Drift stood. He watched Crosshairs push himself up and sweep his jacket back. They stood a bit awkwardly for a few moments, staring at each other before, Crosshairs pointed to the path they used to come out to their stargazing spot. Drift nodded and started walking, and Crosshairs followed.

 

The walk back seemed a bit less lonely as the two mechs walked side by side through the forest. They didn’t speak though, there didn’t seem to be much that needed to be said. Drift waited first for Crosshairs to enter the garage, then he entered as well. They both fell asleep shortly after, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

 

\---

 

Bumblebee woke them both up by chirping and cooing happily, pointing at them and playing a clip that was an 80s studio audience going ‘WOOOO!’

 

“Oi, you little SHIT,” Crosshairs revved his engine and gunned out of the garage, transforming as he went and tackled the scout and noogied him. “What’re you implying you crummy little slagger!? Huh!?”

 

Bumblebee flailed under his grasp. He wriggled free and crossed his arms in a pout.

 

“We uh, we saw ya walkin’ back together. Bee kept sayin’ you were sleeping together,” Hound spoke up, laughing. “I tried to tell him no, that’s not how it works but he’s just latched onto it.”

 

“Aw primus damnit,” Crosshairs grumbled and pushed at Bumblebee’s face.

 

By this time, Drift had awoken as well. He shifted awkwardly and rolled out of the garage, transforming and giving Bumblebee a look. It wasn’t just looking at him, it was A Look. Bumblebee whistled sadly and held his hands up, ducking behind Hound.

 

“‘Ey leave him alone, doesn’t matter to me if you’re screwin’ in the woods,” Hound waved a hand at Drift, trying to shoo him away.

 

“WE ARE NOT!!” Crosshairs yelled. He stormed off, going to the opposite side of the Yaeger’s home and was relatively mad for most of the day. The other three knew better than to go try and console him until he actually calmed down, which could take a few hours.

 

Drift didn’t expect to see him that night, but was pleasantly surprised when Crosshairs came stomping through the woods and slumped down next to him.

 

“Hello Crosshairs,” Drift said.

 

“Ugh,” Crosshairs pushed his hands against his face. “I can’t believe they think that.”

 

“Don’t let it bother you. You know how they can be,” Drift said. He looked over, then hesitantly reached up and gave Crosshairs a pat on the shoulder. Crosshairs surprisingly didn’t flinch away or cause a fuss, he just moped a little more.

 

Drift thought for a few moments, then looked back up at the skies in thought. An idea occurred to him and he nodded. “You know, I may have implied that my early life on Cybertron was terrible, but it was not always bad. I remember a time that made me have faith in other Cybertronians,” Drift said.

 

“Ah?” Crosshairs looked up, distracted by the fact that Drift seemed to be sharing something intensely personal.

 

“Yes. I remember a street vendor that would sneak me a rust stick every few days when I saw him. He was very kind. He knew I did not have a home and access to much fuel, so he did his best to give me something. While it wasn’t always enough… I was delighted to know that somebody cared,” Drift spoke softly, but a smile was on his face.

 

“Ah hey, what a nice guy,” Crosshairs couldn’t help but smile. “Better than the friends I had. I’d try to share candy with ‘em and they’d always take it all. Kept on sharing though… They were the only friends I had.” He didn’t realize he had just shared a bit of his past until he finished and glanced away, frowning at himself. Drift was going to call him out on it or something and make him feel awkward again.

 

“Oh?” Drift felt an idea itching at his processor. He smiled to himself.

 

“Yea, I probably shouldn’t have been friends with ‘em but whatever… I was pretty bad about being able to make friends,” Crosshairs leaned back and looked up to the skies. He didn’t know what Drift was thinking, but he had an idea too.

 

Both mechs were planning on making candy for each other. The idea was so sickeningly sweet that neither wanted to actually share until they had finished.

 

“Well, as I’ve said, it was in the past,” Drift noted. Crosshairs nodded, but said nothing.

 

They sat quietly for a little bit, Crosshairs still winding down from his anger earlier in the day. When he stood, Drift stood as well.

 

“Time to go back?” Drift asked.

 

“Yeh,” Crosshairs nodded. “I won’t let ‘em bother me, if I do I’d screw myself over. S’not like there’s anyone else here for us to make new friends with, huh?”

 

“That’s wise of you. You may not have to be friends however, merely tolerate them. I’m sure that’s the most of what Sensei may have asked of you,” Drift noted. He chuckled a bit as Crosshairs grumbled about Optimus, but didn’t say much in return.

  
They walked in silence back to the garage to rest for the night. 


	2. Chapter 2

Somehow, Drift managed to make himself even more elusive than when Crosshairs was first looking for him.

 

The first few nights after each mech got their idea, they continued to meet up and stargaze. However Drift appeared less and less. Soon Crosshairs realized he was spending nights out in the forest alone. He hunted for Drift but could find no sign of the mech.

 

“How the bloody pit does he manage that?!” Crosshairs angrily kicked at the ground in their stargazing spot, before he slumped down. Once again, he was alone. He still kept coming if only because it was oddly calming and comforting to stargaze. He paused and thought about that, realizing that Drift had rubbed off on him in a way, and it didn’t upset him. He shrugged a bit and threw his hands behind his head, then flopped onto his back, looking up at the stars.

 

Miles away, Drift had finished gathering up all the supplies he needed and was carrying them to a rather deserted area that he knew of from his own drives. He found an overpass on a nearly-abandoned highway that saw maybe one or two trucks in the span of a day. He stopped under the overpass, looking at the darkened area that it created and smiled to himself.

 

“Wonderful,” he said softly. He removed the items from his trunk by unceremoniously dumping them out, then transformed and removed the rest of the more delicate items from his subspace pocket. Drift was surprisingly sneaky for a giant robot, and had managed to procure a few choice chemicals from a shipment in a nearby city. He did this over the course of a few shipments, so they wouldn’t notice overall, unless they were extreme sticklers for a liter of this or a few milliliters of that.

 

He smoothed out some of the fallen rocks and other garbage to make a flat surface and set down a piece of metal, then got to work setting up what he remembered the street vendor had set up on his cart: a few vials with sticks that were submerged in various mixtures of chemicals to make various flavors of rust sticks. Some would be crunchy and sweet, others could be smooth and sour, it was all in how they were made. The only problem was he wasn’t sure how it would turn out, so it was a lot of trial and error.

 

Drift stuck a stick in one of the chemicals and swirled it around a bit, then tasted it and frowned. It wasn’t the same as energon, nor was it the same as fuel but it was interesting. He could only guess it was because it had been ages since he had actual Cybertronian candy, and he was also using inferior earth chemicals.

 

“Hm. I do hope he likes it,” Drift murmured to himself as he sat down cross legged over his candy-making station and started working.

 

His first methods were to see how the different chemicals combined and let it sit with the stick it so it would form, somewhat like how rock candy is made. He made a few of these kinds of candy before branching out and trying different things, though it wasn’t far off from what he made the first few times. He made it into fun shapes and even made a frame of a glyph that said ‘friend’ and coated it in rust. That was probably going overboard, but he was making candy for Crosshairs. He passed the normal line long ago.

 

Then he tried something different on his own, making up a bit of chemicals in a cube and letting it sit so it solidified into a hardened cube. The time he let it sit along with the combination lead to something similar to a crunchy candy bar. He ended up eating more than a few of the cubes, and had to make more, if only because it tasted so good.

 

The amount of pride Drift held in his work was getting to be high, and he was eager to see what else he could do for Crosshairs.

 

Drift’s schedule changed somewhat. He would wake up and do his morning yoga, then train for most of the morning into the afternoon. Then he would stop mid afternoon to fly or drive out to his underpass workstation and check on his candy. He would return back to the Yaeger compound and continue training. Then he would stop once more out to check on his candy, then head out to stargaze if he saw the time permitted. If not, he would return to the garage to sleep.

 

The nights he did make it out to stargaze, he found Crosshairs had been there… But not the nights that he was there. There were freshly trampled leaves, scuff marks in the dirt, and other tell-tale signs that Crosshairs had been around. Drift reached down, touching the spot where Crosshairs had sat next to him while they stargazed, and found himself missing the paratrooper more than normal, which was little to none at first.

 

“I hope he’s well,” Drift said, then assumed a meditative pose.

 

Miles away, in an opposite direction to where Drift’s underpass was, Crosshairs had found himself a nice abandoned warehouse. He kicked all sorts of things out of the way and had nicked quite a few items to make his own candy for Drift. Like Drift he had gotten a bunch of chemicals and was intending to make rust sticks, but he had also gotten things to make something he was aware of. They were little gooey chunks of chemicals that were shaped like stars and he remembered eating them by the handful when he could. He remembered they were called star chews or something along those lines. Then he would get sick because he ate too much. He was fond of those memories.

 

“Ok lesse here,” Crosshairs kicked aside some of the abandoned boxes and pulled over a few pieces of metal to make his own workbench. He worked at it a bit and made it relatively sturdy and something he could stand up at while working.

 

Then Crosshairs got to work, knowing just how the candy was made. Unlike Drift, he had access to be able to watch holo-screens and the broadcasts that were aimed at kids. Some of them were things like how Cybertronian candy was made, and he always liked that because he liked candy.

 

“So this and that, and this and some o’ this…” Crosshairs was relatively happy as he worked. It was no weaponry but it was something to make Drift happy. He stared at his hands when he realized he was making something for Drift.

 

“I’m SUCH A SAP,” Crosshairs laughed loudly and put a hand to his forehead. “Slag, I’ll make him so happy he’ll be in debt to me and call me HIS Sensei then. Or something. However that slag works.”

 

Like Drift, Crosshairs’ schedule changed up some. He would wake up at some vague time in the morning or early afternoon, lounge around, then head out to his warehouse to check the candy. Then when he was done with that, he’d head back to the compound, hang out with Bumblebee or Hound, since Drift had made himself scarce once more. In the evenings, sometimes he would head straight to sleep, other times he would go out to stargaze.

 

The first day after starting he found a load of stray cats that had came into the cleared out space and were just there. They didn’t bother him, and he didn’t bother them. It was the second day when the cats got bold and kept trying to climb all over him. By the third day, he was constantly chasing them away from his things.

 

“I am going to be so fraggin happy when I’m outta here,” Crosshairs glared at a cat that was standing on his workbench. It was black and white and was staring at him. It meowed.

 

“Don’t tell me that,” Crosshairs growled.

 

The cat meowed again.

 

“Go away,” he tried to grab at the cat, but it jumped off onto his arm and then bounded away. Crosshairs cussed a few more times and sat down on the floor. Drift would probably love the cats. He stared at one that came up to his side and went to push it away. It also jumped out of his reach on to his work table and continued staring at him.

 

“What,” Crosshairs said. “Go away cat.”

 

The cat mewled and curled up into a cat-ball (how they could do that was amazing to Crosshairs- it was like a type of transforming) and fell asleep. It was also in his way. Crosshairs scowled and pushed the cat-ball off to the side of the work table. The last time he actually managed to pick one up, it bit one of the wires in his finger and he lost mobility in that finger for the night until his self-repair fixed it.

 

Crosshairs continued to go to the stargazing spot, but always managed to miss Drift. He never stayed too long, though one night he fell asleep out there. It just wasn’t the same without Drift’s serene presence at his side.

 

\---

 

It was a few weeks later when both mechs had finished their crafts. The day started much like any other, Drift leaving early in the morning. Bumblebee was up before Crosshairs got up, and had gone off on his own for some reason.

 

Drift smiled to himself as he put everything together in a box, then wrapped it up nicely in some colored tarp he had found to serve as wrapping paper. If he was going to surprise Crosshairs, he was going the extra mile for it. Besides, if Crosshairs made fun of him for it, he would hopefully be distracted by the prospect of candy.

 

Drift cleaned up his little workstation, leaving the place cleaner than he had found it. Then he stored the gift box in his subspace, transformed, and drove on back, intent on making himself back at home and more visible for Crosshairs to know that he was around once more.

 

When he got back, he found Bumblebee playing some sort of form of Jenga with Crosshairs. They had found the game on the human’s internet and were interested in trying it themselves. Bumblebee had gathered up a bunch of scrap pieces and stacked them up. Hound was sitting nearby, looking sour.

 

“Bee’s good at this slaggin’ game he found,” Crosshairs announced, explaining what he was doing to Drift, noting the extremely confused look on the samurai’s face.

 

“What game is that?” Drift sat down next to Hound.

 

“Jangles? Jungle? Somethin’ stupid like that,” Hound shrugged, “He tried to get me to play and I just pushed it over and made him mad.” Hound punctuated his sentence with a boisterous laugh. Bumblebee scowled over at Hound, then made an angry burst of static at him in response to his laugh.

 

“Hm,” Drift watched as Bumblebee moved an iron bar out and stacked it on top. Crosshairs cussed and held his arm out, held that arm steady with his other arm, and very slowly took another piece out and set it on top. There was a loud clatter and the entire tower fell over. Bumblebee threw his arms up, played a few cheering clips, and made a few delighted beeps.

 

“SLAG,” Crosshairs smacked at the remaining iron bars and crossed his arms.

 

“May I try?” Drift spoke up. Bumblebee looked over at him and nodded eagerly. He gathered up the pieces and described how the pieces had to fit together in the tower.

 

“Oh this’ll be good,” Crosshairs moved and sat next to Hound as Drift took his place sitting opposite to Bumblebee.

 

Very shortly later, Bumblebee was making very sad dejected beeps and looking at the collapsed tower. Drift sat with a smug smile on his face.

 

“Two outta three!” Bumblebee played a clip and nodded eagerly.

 

Even shorter than the first time, Drift sat victorious and Bumblebee was mourning his loss. Drift reached out and gently patted him on the shoulder.

 

“You did well though. Do not fault yourself,” Drift consoled him. Bumblebee looked up at him, made another sorrowful beep, then nodded. Bumblebee gathered the metal scraps up and went to stack them neatly in a corner of the yard and covered them up so they were out of the way.

 

“So lookit you hangin’ out again,” Crosshairs spoke up, looking at Drift. “You gonna stop hiding wherever you’ve been hiding?”

 

“I have not been hiding, but yes, I will be around more often,” Drift looked at him in return. He held Crosshairs’ gaze for a little longer, before Crosshairs looked away and up at the skies.

 

“Gon’ be out there tonight?” Crosshairs ventured to ask, but was still not looking at Drift.

 

“Indeed I will be,” Drift nodded. “I do hope to see you there. I have seen you’ve been there when I have not been. There’s been fresh foliage that has been crumpled under your footsteps.”

 

“You would notice that, fraggin pit, you’d notice a blade of grass outta place,” Crosshairs laughed. “Yeh, I’ve been out there. And yeh I’ll be out there tonight.” Crosshairs stood and stretched his arms, then transformed and drove off, intent on getting his own things ready.

 

“And he puts the blame on me for being elusive,” Drift chuckled softly.

 

Crosshairs drove quite fast to the abandoned warehouse. He shooed away the cats that had become his unwilling work partners, if only because he worked around them, and threw everything together in a bin. He had made a huge bowl of star candy, a mess of rust sticks, and some gelled almost-energon cubes. Those were his favorite, that he had made something very similar to energon with some distilled chemicals combined with electricity.

 

He stared at the workstation, then grabbed everything and hauled it out, dumping it in a nearby empty shipping container and left it for some unknowing human to clean up. One of the cats woke up from its probably fourth nap of the day and meowed at Crosshairs.

 

“Don’t give me that, shut up, I’m leavin,” Crosshairs looked down at the cat. He laughed, “Thanks for not eatin’ my stuff, ya ragged feline.” It meowed again at him as he left.

 

He left, leaving the warehouse just as dirty as he found it. Not like anyone would really be back and use it, after all.

 

When he reached home once more, he gave a cursory glance to Drift, who was sitting under a tree and meditating. That wasn’t an uncommon sight, and Crosshairs was glad to get back to a normal routine.

 

Crosshairs ticked down the time until sundown, like an impatient sparkling would.

 

When he got up to head into the forest, he found Drift was already gone.

 

“Damn bugger-atti, how does he sneak off like that,” Crosshairs murmured, heading out into the forest. He grumbled a bit as he walked, but quieted down shortly after. Just as he thought, Drift was already out there, waiting.

 

“It is good to see you again,” Drift said, not even bothering to turn his head to greet him.

 

“Yeah,” Crosshairs slumped down. “Felt weird comin’ out here without you.”

 

Drift said nothing for a few moments. He then looked over at Crosshairs, “I’m surprised you came out here without me.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Crosshairs nodded. He looked off to the side, and then reached into his subspace, pulled out the box, and unceremoniously shoved it into Drift’s face. Drift reeled back in confusion, then looked curiously at Crosshairs as he held the box out. Crosshairs looked at him. “You gonna take it? S’fer you.”

 

Drift gently took the box and looked in, seeing a mess of candy laying in the box, piled on top of each other or in smaller boxes. Drift picked up a single rust stick and looked at it, a small smile spreading across his face as he did so.

 

“You made me candy,” Drift said softly.

 

“Yea don’t get sappy about it, I know you will,” Crosshairs huffed, but smiled. “You said you never really got some so I decided to make you some. Cos uh. I did.”

 

Drift set the box down, making Crosshairs look almost nervous for a second. He then reached into his own subspace and held his present out to Crosshairs. “You might find the contents of that box interesting,” Drift stated.

 

Crosshairs tilted his head a bit and opened the box. Surprised crossed his face and stayed there as he looked at the candy Drift had made him.

 

“You fragger, you made ME candy?!” Crosshairs laughed and shook his head. Drift had a bemused smile on his face. “Fraggin sentimental samurai,” Crosshairs pulled out one of the rust sticks and put it in his mouth. “Ah hey! This is good.”

 

“I would hope so,” Drift pulled out a few of the gelled energon cubes and ate one. The smile never left his face, but got bigger, “You did an excellent job as well.”

 

“Can’t believe we did this. I must really like you or somethin, huh?” Crosshairs leaned back, chewing on the stick. Drift raised an eyebrow and looked at him, but said nothing at that. He simply and silently enjoyed his candy.

 

A few moments of silence passed before Drift looked over at Crosshairs once more. “You did this because you viewed me as a friend?” he asked.

 

“I… guess?” Crosshairs stuck the stick he was chewing on in the corner of his mouth, talking around it. “I mean, we’ve been hangin’ out and I like that. Plus you’re not as bad as I thought you were, so there’s that.”

 

“What a compliment,” Drift said.

 

“No I mean it!” Crosshairs waved his hands around a bit frantically as he spoke. “Why would I spend time makin’ candy for somebody I hated?”

 

Drift merely stared at Crosshairs, saying nothing.

 

“Oh frag off,” Crosshairs waved his hand dismissively at Drift and went back to chewing on his rust stick.

 

“I’m glad you’re my friend as well, Crosshairs.”

 

Crosshairs looked over, then gave Drift a cheeky sort of grin. “Well then, looks like all this wasn’t worth nothin’ after all, eh?” he leaned back on one hand. Drift made a soft noise of agreement, but said nothing. “So… Did I ever tell you about this time on Cybertron when I was younger, I snuck into the Archives and pulled a chair out from under an official?”

 

“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to share it with me,” Drift had a smile on his face as Crosshairs turned to him.

  
Crosshairs grinned in return and launched into his story. “So there I was, I was probably the stupidest kid ever because I thought I was so cool, climbing up the outside walls of the Archives…” 


End file.
